[Aliantha]

I think that every family has their own way of dealing with conflict and whatever works for them is the right thing to do for them. Now I'm not talking about physical abuse or anything here. I'm just addressing the fact that there's no absolute right way for a family to resolve conflict, and what works for one family will not work for another.

I have an aunt and uncle who bicker and argue night and day, and that's their way of living. They like it. They love each other and they've been married for about 30yrs now.

Me and my husband rarely argue loudly. We discuss things. Sometimes I pout or he sulks until one of us can't stand it anymore and we have to sort the issue out. We're not perfect, and I'm sure anyone could point out how childish our behaviour is sometimes, but neither one of us likes raising our voice or making scenes so our 'sulking' time is usually where we work out what we're really pissed about and figure out what we really want as a solution, instead of words tossed out into the universe in anger.

As to the topic of this thread, I can see why people think families are breaking down. It's a fact that they are breaking down, but only the structures we traditionally think of as families. Social change is a fact and will always be a fact. Nothing is ever going to stay the same and there's lots of interesting research about relationships and the evolution of family structures which might help those who are feeling a bit concerned about 'the breakdown of the family unit'.